


Overdue

by pinuspinea



Series: The Librarian [4]
Category: Dracula & Related Fandoms, Dracula - Bram Stoker, The Historian - Elizabeth Kostova
Genre: Captivity, Character Turned Into Vampire, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-26
Updated: 2020-06-26
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:55:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24925750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinuspinea/pseuds/pinuspinea
Summary: By the time Dora returns to the library, Eszter has come to terms with her un-life. She should have guessed that Vlad would stir things up again.
Relationships: Dracula/Original Female Character(s)
Series: The Librarian [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1560490
Kudos: 5





	Overdue

When she opens her eyes into a new night, Vlad's face is above her. Eszter blinks in surprise. She didn't expect the man to return quite this soon.

"I have a surprise for you," Vlad tells her and gives her a hand.

Eszter is much nimbler getting out of her sarcophagus after all these years of practice, but she is nowhere near the gracefulness of the others. Now, as Vlad holds onto her hand, she is out quicker than usually.

Her leg is a bit stiff just like it is each evening when she wakes up, but Vlad is in a rush. He almost seems impatient with Eszter as he helps her up the stairs. It's still grey outside. The curtains are drawn to cover the windows, but the stray rays of light still sting her skin. Vlad does not have eyes for her, not now. He brings her forward until they reach the human wing and the gate that has been locked. Vlad pulls out a key from his pocket and opens the gate, and only then does he look at Eszter.

"Go on," he murmurs to Eszter. She gives him a curious look but obeys.

The human wing is dusty with disuse, but there are fresh steps disturbing the stillness. Eszter follows them to one of the doors, and she glances back at Vlad. The man has an amused look in his eyes.

Eszter opens the door and breathes in unnecessarily.

Dora stirs on the bed. There is a slight groan from her throat, a throat that has a deep wound on it. Eszter is stunned by the sight. She stands there, frozen to her place, as Dora opens her eyes and sees of the librarian.

Dora nearly jumps off the bed and scrambles to the other side. Eszter lets the door open a little further. Dora's eyes are wild. Eszter has seen that look before in the eyes of unwilling blood donors, and she raises her hands up slowly.

"Dora, it's me," she says quietly. Dora stares back at her and swallows thickly. A grimace is brought upon her face and she brings a hand up to her neck.

Eszter feels more than hears Vlad coming to stand behind her.

"Did you really think we would not keep an eye on you?" Vlad mocks. Eszter looks up at him with a small frown.

"There's no need to be mean right now," she says quietly in Hungarian. The man gives her a harsh look. "She's still in pain."

"You and your soft heart," Vlad sighs, a little disappointed as always. Eszter lowers her eyes submissively and then looks at Dora again. The woman, for Dora is very clearly a woman by now, stares at their exchange with steel-hard eyes. Eszter looks at her old friend.

"Are you hungry?" Eszter asks. "I think there is still something edible left."

Vlad apparently decides he is no longer needed, as he leaves the room. Eszter glances at the man, but then she focuses on Dora. The other woman stares back with distrusting eyes.

Dora is older now, much older, and she has lost a lot of the softness she had when she was just a girl. Eszter catalogues the woman with her eyes just like she catalogues all her books. The sight is intriguing. Dora is a grown woman. There is grey in her dark hair, sharp-looking glasses resting on her nose, and soft lines beginning at the corners of her eyes from a life full of laughter.

She looks just like Eszter imagines she would have, has the same elegance as Helen had. She looks just like Eszter herself will never look like.

"You look just like before," Dora states. She has apparently been studying Eszter as well. Their eyes meet. Eszter nods and leans on the doorframe. Dora is starting to calm down, but Eszter can hear the heavy heartbeats from this far away. Sharp hunger burns inside her, but she ignores it. There is no need to scare Dora with something like that.

"Not exactly, but close enough," Eszter notes. Dora studies her for a moment longer. Eszter pulls her braid open and shakes her hair open. It forms a soft curtain against the frame of her face, shorter now than before. Dora nods quietly.

"Are you hungry?" Eszter repeats. Dora seems doubtful, yet she nods.

Eszter walks ahead of Dora into the kitchen and searches for a moment before she finds cans of food at the back of the cupboard. The last human to have spent any time at the library was there months ago, and all the perishables have been thrown away, but there is enough to feed her friend.

Eszter's head turns towards the door as she hears footsteps, and so does Dora's. The other woman sets herself behind the table across from the door as if preparing for an attack. The steps reach the door eventually and Matteo peeks in. He looks surprised.

"Well, well, well," he mutters. "Look at what the cat dragged in."

"Stop it," Eszter chides him gently. He snorts out a laugh and sits easily down at the head of the table. Dora remains standing.

"Didn't think you'd ever show up again, but seems like I was wrong," Matteo notes and studies Dora. "Has it really been this long?"

"Yes, it has," Eszter sighs and pours some water into the pot before setting it to boil. She takes a chair of her own. Dora's eyes dart between the two of them before finally landing on Eszter.

"You don't have a cane anymore," Dora says in a shaky voice. Matteo snorts.

"Vlad finally managed to trick Eszter into forgetting she needed it, and by the time she noticed, it was god knows where," Matteo notes and leans back on his chair. "Look at you, Dora, all grown up and distinguished. You almost look like your mother."

"And you're still as much of an asshole as before," Dora says sharply. Eszter's lips twitch.

"That much is true," she notes, a little amused how nothing has changed. It's been forty years since Dora last was here, and nearly twenty the last time Eszter ever saw the woman. So many years, and yet so little has changed in that time. Dora has grown up and gained perspective, but she is still very much the same. Eszter's face is not much different, but inside, she sometimes feels like the old Eszter is gone in the days spent lounging around in the sun and the new Eszter only knows night.

Dora eats quickly, her eyes nailed to Matteo, and Eszter realises with relief that her old friend does not see her as such a big threat as she sees Matteo. That will make things easier. Just like before, Eszter can ease the transformation for her.

Eszter hopes Dora won't decide on leaving the place in such a drastic manner as their last human visitor. It would be such a shame to lose Dora like that when she has been such a stable part of Eszter's life and un-life for all these years.

"Is Florence still around?" Dora asks eventually. Matteo and Eszter glance at one another, quietly wondering how much they should tell. Eszter decides something like that would come up eventually, and thus decides to answer Dora's question.

"Florence is on an acquisition trip," Eszter says. "She should be back in a week at most."

Dora nods and seems to ponder on it for a moment longer. Eszter isn't surprised that the woman needs time to really wrap her head around it. Coming to the library is always a shock.

It's odd to have Dora back after all these years, yet it still really isn't Dora. Eszter supposes the woman should be called Dorothy now, as she has been titled in academia and her career.

Eszter wonders for a moment whether Dora found happiness in her life outside.

When they enter the library, Dorothy stops on her track and looks around. Eszter gives the woman a curious glance, and then realises how much the library has changed.

"Oh right," she murmurs. "We did overhaul the whole library at one point."

"It certainly seems like that," Dorothy notes dryly.

The bookshelves are now all similar. There is no longer a mismatch of shelves and books. Everything has been arranged carefully into neat lines, and now the ends of shelves have the title of that part of collection as well as the authors. The shelves are tall with sturdy, sleek ladders on them, and there are completely new reading nooks. The biggest difference of it all, however, is the little lounge at the heart of the library and the desks for the main librarians.

Dorothy stares at the computer.

"I knew you must have internet access here, but that feels so out of place," she says eventually. Eszter shrugs.

"Vlad's probably cut the connection by now," Eszter says calmly enough. "Not like it matters."

Dorothy's eyes are still glued onto the computer. Eszter puts a hand on her arm, and the woman shivers a little.

"Please don't think about it," Eszter asks. "Not right now."

Their eyes meet. Dorothy swallows, and the wound in her neck lets out a slurping noise. Eszter closes her eyes and pushes back on her hunger. Matteo looks at Dora with longing in his eyes.

"Can't I just –"

"No."

Eszter's voice is unusually harsh as she denies Matteo's request. The man pouts as he checks his workstation. His keys open the locked drawer on his desk, and he takes a quick glance at the cell phone. Matteo can't quite hide his distaste for the device, but he does handle it well.

Eszter's too focused on watching Dorothy to pay too much attention to Matteo. There is a calculating look in Dorothy's eyes, but she doesn't try anything, not quite yet.

The library is even more beautiful than before. Eszter brings Dorothy to her favourite nook, the one you can see the garden from, and Dorothy studies it for a moment. The nook is comfortable, like a little green clearing in a sea of books. Eszter curls down on an armchair and opens the science fiction novel she was in the middle of reading.

"You're free to read anything you want," Eszter tells Dorothy. "There's not much work right now, just digitising the archive, but that can wait."

Dorothy's eyes roam the shelves hungrily. There is still the same curiosity in them as before if not even stronger now.

"You'd think he would have sent you away once the collection was all here," Dorothy mutters almost to herself. Eszter hesitates for a moment, but eventually she decides it's better to let sleeping dogs lie. She shouldn't give Dorothy any false hope, after all.

Eszter glances at Dorothy and hopes the woman will get used to it all, but whatever happens, the ripples will last for a long time.

* * *

Vlad comes to pick her up in the early morning hours before sun has had time to think about rising. His figure remains hidden among the shelves, but Eszter feels his call nevertheless. She closes the book and glances at Dorothy. The woman is stubbornly browsing the shelves, possibly for some help.

"I might be back," Eszter says quietly and slips away from her familiar nook.

Vlad is waiting for her in between the shelves. He wraps an arm around her shoulders, and together they walk to the room Eszter still considers as her own. After the door is closed, Vlad turns to give a harsh look at Eszter.

"The next time you feed will be from Dorothy," he tells Eszter. The woman freezes and closes her eyes.

"She's my friend," she mutters, not rebelling against his order, simply letting him know how the thought hurts. Eszter opens her eyes and looks at Vlad carefully. His face is harsh.

"I do not care if she is your friend or not," Vlad tells her. "She is going to be your next blood donor. Feel free to choose when you next want to feed."

Eszter lowers her eyes and stares into emptiness for a long moment. Vlad steps closer, into her bubble, and Eszter lets her head fall against his chest. The man remains solid against her. Eszter keeps pushing the frightening thoughts away until her mind is clear, and only then does she allow them to come one at a time.

At first, she thinks this must be some sort of a punishment, but Vlad wouldn't hide punishment. No, this is something more. Eszter thinks about it carefully.

"You want her to realise that we all obey your orders," Eszter states quietly. Vlad hums a small, satisfied note.

"And that her fate will be inevitable," he adds. "This time there is no need to wait and let her simmer. I think I might even have you take her life."

Eszter's eyes dart up and meet his. She shakes a little.

"I've never taken anyone's life," she says in a shaky voice. Vlad brushes a stray curl from her face and smiles his lazy, satisfied smile.

"What better way to learn than this, then?" he mumbles and kisses her.

Eszter doesn't let it distract her. She steps back and blinks and tries to clear her head. Vlad allows it. He seems more curious than annoyed right now, after all, and Eszter knows he wants to see what she'll end up saying. That is why she takes her time to study her own hunger, the burning in her throat. She might last a few days if she pushes it, but would it be better to get over it quickly rather than wait? If she's too hungry, she might hurt Dorothy, and that would be counterproductive. Likewise, if she does it immediately, Dorothy will see it as a betrayal.

"Will you let me tell her about this?" Eszter murmurs the question. Vlad's lips twitch.

"Why not?" he eventually allows. "It will make things more interesting."

Eszter takes in an unnecessary breath and closes her eyes. She imagines how Dorothy will react to that piece of news, how Dorothy will flinch away. She will most likely start avoiding Eszter, if not consciously then unconsciously. While that is the most likely option, Eszter still knows she needs to tell Dorothy about it as soon as possible. The woman will need as much time as possible to get used to the idea.

Eszter opens her eyes and turns around. Vlad follows her hesitant steps as she returns to her library and navigates through the corridors until she reaches Dorothy. Vlad remains just out of sight, ready to step in at any moment, as Eszter clears her throat. Dorothy looks up.

"I ought to let you know that Vlad has decided you're going to be my next meal," Eszter says in a voice that may sound stable for a human, but shakes horribly for the more delicate ears of the other undead. Dorothy's eyes are wide as they stare at Eszter. "I think I can last a few days without feeding still, but not too long."

"Why tell me?" Dorothy asks, her eyes narrowing into thin slits. Eszter's eyes dart away in shame.

"I wanted you to get used to the idea," she answers hurriedly and tries to disappear, but Dorothy is quick and follows her.

Dorothy freezes up as she sees Vlad. The man answers the stare with a blank face, and Eszter's eyes dart between the two of them. Worry gnaws at Eszter's innards.

"You don't need to use her as a tool to hurt me," Dorothy says in a harsh voice, her chin up and the wound on her throat clear as the day. Eszter shifts weight off from the bad leg and steps a little closer to Vlad, just in case. His eyes flash in warning, and Eszter returns to her place, though she can't help but worry her lip with her teeth.

"No, I don't," he says calmly, "but it is much more fun this way."

Anger flashes in Dorothy's eyes. Her nose flares out as if scenting something, and Eszter can feel the blood thrumming under her skin. The scent is tempting, so tempting, and Eszter can't help as her body instinctively turns towards that delicious scent. She locks her knees in place and closes her eyes, breathes out, and doesn't take in another breath. It's uncomfortable, but better than to let Dorothy tempt her any longer.

Dorothy's eyes glance at Eszter and she takes one step back, then another. She finally seems to sense the danger. Eszter knows there is a cruel smile forming onto Vlad's lips.

"She smells good, doesn't she?" Vlad murmurs to her in Romanian. "Her blood tastes so wonderful, my dear Eszter. I know you're hungry. Why not take what belongs to you?"

Eszter shakes her head, a quiet no. He chuckles and gets so close to her that his power makes her head feel dizzy.

"But you want to," he continues. "I bet you would want nothing more than to push her against the shelves and drink from her until she is dizzy."

Eszter takes in just enough air that she has the chance to answer him.

"Not yet," she breathes out and turns around quickly. She slips away from Vlad's space and hurries out of the library. Matteo snorts from his desk as Eszter passes by, but doesn't try to stop her.

Eszter disappears into her garden for the rest of the night, and then she hurries downstairs just before dawn, but Vlad is waiting there. The man gets her to stop with a simple glance, and Eszter meekly allows him to wrap his arms around her and to pull her into his sarcophagus.

They lie there in the darkness, and Eszter's mind whirls to a stop suddenly. Her body freezes between two breaths, her eyes barely closed, and Vlad shapes the woman better into his embrace before the dawn takes him as well.

* * *

"Do you ever miss it?" Dorothy asks. "Being human?"

Eszter should have known that Dorothy would keep rocking the boat. It's her second day back at the library and already she's asking questions she really doesn't want to hear answers to.

"Not really," Eszter states calmly and turns the page. "There's not much to miss about being a human if your human life is like mine was."

Dorothy is frowning.

"But what about daylight?" she continues. "Summer and your favourite foods and drinking tea? What about laying in a patch of sunlight on a lazy Sunday afternoon like a cat, with not a single worry in the world?"

Eszter considers it for a moment.

"There are other kinds of pleasures now," she decides to say. "Sunlight was nice, but so is the first time you feel dew gathering on your feet during the earliest morning, or how bright the moon looks with these eyes."

She doesn't say anything about the pleasure that warm blood in your mouth feels like. She doesn't say anything about how electric another's touch feels nowadays, how each sensation is more heightened, more anticipated. She says nothing of how it feels like to take in the night for the first time, how calming it feels to breathe with no need for it, just the simple comfort of the movement with nothing dependant on it.

There are other kinds of pleasures in Eszter's life nowadays, but she still sometimes longs for sunlight. It's not easy, knowing it will still take her quite some time until she is strong enough, but Vlad has promised he'll help her try. It's not the sun that will be the worst; it will be the ache in her bones, the longing for rest. Vlad has said there are many ways to ease the sun's sting, but the seductive nature of rest never leaves. You just learn to tolerate it.

Eszter wonders if it would be easier to simply wake up earlier and earlier and then catch the last rays of sunlight instead of delaying rest like Vlad is more likely to do.

Dorothy is studying her with attentive eyes. They are no longer as naive as that young girl's she once upon a time was, but they still remind Eszter of their time before. Dorothy has never quite lost the curiosity. It's not a surprise to Eszter. Dorothy has always been much too curious for her own sake, just like everyone trying to solve the mystery of the library is.

"Have you kept in contact with the others?" Eszter asks calmly. "The Boras and Master James and Stephen Barley?"

Dorothy twitches a little. There is an odd look passing on her face.

"Hugh James died many years ago," Dorothy tells. "The Boras are also dead by now. And Stephen Barley I lost contact with quite a few years ago. I suppose he's still around."

Eszter hums thoughtfully.

"They would be pretty old by now, were they still alive," she states and stops for a moment. She shakes the thought of her father out of her head. The man would be almost a hundred years old if he was still alive, and somehow Eszter doubts that to be the case.

"What were you thinking about?" Matteo's curious voice asks. The man settles into one of the armchairs. Eszter gives the man a thoughtful look, and then realises that Vlad must have told the man to keep an eye on them both. Eszter supposes that is only the sensible option. The man must know how hungry Eszter is starting to feel, how sometimes her throat aches like someone is choking her.

"Just about my father," Eszter says. "He would be almost a hundred."

"Oh, he might still make it to hundred," Matteo states calmly. "Stubborn bugger."

Eszter stares at Matteo. The man looks up after a while. He raises his eyebrows.

"He's alive?" Eszter asks, something twisting inside of her. Matteo's raised eyebrows burrow into a frown.

"You didn't know?" he asks quietly. Eszter shakes her head.

Dorothy must see how much the thought of her father being still alive bothers Eszter, as eventually she decides to put a hand on Eszter's arm and squeezes it comfortingly.

"Dad never stopped talking about how we could still try and contact you," Dorothy says. Eszter sighs and slips a bookmark between the pages of her novel of choice.

"Hopefully my father hasn't longed for me as much," she says. "At least he thinks I died fifty years ago, so he shouldn't be too bothered by my memory."

"Probably right," Matteo notes. "My family got over my death rather quickly."

"You were already sick with cancer," Eszter notes. "It may have been slightly easier for them to get used to the idea."

"Cancer or car crash, death always feels sudden," Matteo says like he is some wizened religious leader instead of a foul-minded librarian. Eszter sighs and stares at the table for a long moment. She doesn't know why suddenly she longs to hear from her father again, longs to see his face, but she knows she shouldn't. He must have gotten over her death years ago, and besides, he wouldn't need such shocks at nearly hundred years of age.

Matteo's glance passes over her face.

"Don't think about something like that," Matteo tells her. "What's done is done, and what's to come is to come. It's been fifty years."

"I know," Eszter murmurs. "I know."

It still doesn't make it any easier.

* * *

It's been five days since Dorothy arrived, and hunger is squeezing at Eszter's temples and burning in her throat every waking moment. She tries to distract herself from it, but it's getting harder and harder. Matteo keeps glancing in her direction with a question in his eyes. He doesn't seem to understand why Eszter just doesn't feed from Dorothy, but empathy has never been one of his strong points.

Dorothy seems to sense what is going on even if they say nothing. Her eyes are more often locked onto Eszter, glancing at her with suspicion. Eszter knows that it's only a matter of will until she slips and rips Dorothy's throat open if she insists on keeping this pretence of civility, and that is why she goes out to sit in her garden for a moment.

Vlad isn't far behind, of course he isn't. He's spent almost every waking moment shadowing Eszter, just waiting for her willpower to start crumbling. He sits down next to her, and together they study the valley veiled in night's deep, deep colours.

"Do you think you can last another night?" Vlad asks conversationally. He seems curious. Perhaps Eszter's strength of mind is some sort of a test. She can't think about something like that. Already her head feels so dizzy, already her mouth and gums and teeth ache, already the hunger is eating at her resolve.

"Not another night," she sighs and squeezes the stone railing so hard her fingers almost bend backwards. Vlad looks at it with slight amusement.

"You know where to find your next meal," he notes. Eszter nods and closes her eyes. The night air isn't clearing her head like she had hoped. It almost makes it all feel too clear and sharp. It's almost as if being inside in that intoxicating scent is the better option, since then she can only stay in that haze instead of longing for it with all her mind.

Vlad is quiet. Eszter eventually sighs.

"Will you at least make sure I don't hurt her too bad?" Eszter asks quietly. She searches his eyes, but finds no clear emotion in them.

"I will make sure you don't kill her, but nothing more."

Eszter stares out into the valley. She knows that is the most he will agree to, yet it feels so horribly little. There is really no other option than to just take it, to simply decide to get up and go back inside and find Dorothy and reach for her throat and –

The thoughts are almost running wild. Eszter gets up slowly and then, with shaky hands, brushes dirt off her trousers. Vlad follows a few steps behind her, a constant shadow at her back. After all these years Eszter is almost used to it, but Dorothy isn't, and she almost jumps when she realises they have come for her.

"I can't go on any longer like this," Eszter tells Dorothy. There is a momentary panic in the woman's eyes, but she still pulls her chin up and acts brave.

"Well then," Dorothy says, a little too quiet in the peace of the library.

Usually the people Eszter drinks from come willingly to her, usually they think they are the predator, but this time, it is Eszter who steps closer. Dorothy stays admirably still, doesn't try to run. That might provoke Vlad, after all, and it will be easier if Dorothy doesn't try to fight.

Eszter glances at the pale neck in front of her, the bitemark still clear on the thin skin of the throat. She recognises Vlad's work when she sees it. He has been careless, hasn't cared much whether it will hurt or not, and that is why Eszter leans to the other side of the neck. Her hand lays gently on top of Dorothy's arm. Dorothy is getting tenser and tenser. Eszter has to reach up on her toes, but she eventually leans in and pierces the skin.

Dorothy lets out a wounded sound, not too loud, yet it aches in Eszter's ears. That doesn't last for long. Blood rushes into her mouth, and Eszter drinks greedily. Her hands grip tightly at Dorothy's shirt, her tongue licks at the skin, and she can feel Dorothy's heart beating harshly against her stilled one.

Eszter's mouth slips away sooner than she would want to, but even that seems to have been too much for Dorothy. Vlad is already stepping in, taking the weight of Dorothy off Eszter. The red-haired woman glances worriedly at Dorothy, at the woman's too-pale face and the fresh wound on her neck.

"Did I drink too much?" Eszter worries, still licking her lips. Vlad glances at her.

"No," he states. "She fainted the last time as well, although I didn't take much either."

Vlad lays Dorothy down on the sofa. Eszter still worries her lip. Her head feels clearer now. She can feel Dorothy's blood coating her innards, can feel it seeping into her tissues, nourishing them. Vlad comes to her and wipes her mouth softly. He takes a taste of the blood from Eszter's lips. Their eyes meet.

"She tastes good, doesn't she?" the man notes in a devilish tone. Eszter knows what Vlad must be thinking about. Her body feels sharper now, still in the ecstasy of fresh blood, but she shakes her head and takes a few unnecessary breaths. Vlad's lips twitch in amusement at the uncertain rebuke. "Are you sure?" he murmurs. His voice is a temptation that mere mortals fall for so easily and Eszter's strength of mind isn't the best, but Dorothy groans and it feels like a bucketful of icy water has been dumped on Eszter. The short woman glances at Dorothy who is moving a little.

Vlad stops her from getting closer. He is still holding her possessively, but not hurting her. Eszter wonders for a moment what the man is trying to do.

She knows the answer as soon as Dorothy opens her eyes and sees the way Vlad holds her. Dorothy's eyes widen a bit. Eszter meets them, a little uncertain, and Vlad has a small smirk on his face that means he has wanted Dorothy to know about this. The man can be cruel, and he likes nothing as much as a new plaything he can torture with all the ways physical torture couldn't even compare to.

Eszter stands there. If she were a human, she'd probably be shaking, but if she were a human, she wouldn't even be in this situation, now would she?

"Are you alright?" Eszter asks from Dorothy. The latter breathes in slowly and seems to be analysing Eszter in Vlad's arms. The eyes are careful, more aware of small nuances than they were when Dorothy was just a girl, but now she is a woman with a whole life behind her, a life full of all the experiences that a human can have. She probably sees how Eszter leans in a little, how Eszter is comfortable with Vlad in her personal space, how there is now a little more colour to her face and a little more strength in her stature. The blood has helped. It has cleared her head and the hunger is back to manageable levels although it will be quick to grow if she doesn't feed on someone else as well.

Eszter glances at Vlad in question. The man understands what she is asking for and, without speaking aloud, lets her know that she can drink from him. Eszter lets out a small sigh of relief. She had been afraid the man would have tortured her again, but for now, Eszter is safe from such things.

"Just a little dizzy," Dorothy says. Her voice is shaky. Vlad finally decides he has shown enough. He caresses Eszter's face, kisses her brow, and then walks away, leaving Eszter to deal with the mess Dorothy is becoming. The woman in question has her eyes wide open and she stares at Vlad's retreating back. Eszter sits down in her favoured chair and stares out of the window for a long moment.

There is an awkwardness in the library that didn't exist just a few minutes earlier. Eszter's hands keep clutching at her trousers, squeezing and letting go again.

"How long has that been going on?" Dorothy asks. Eszter suddenly feels shy. She knows she shouldn't, but it feels like her own mother is now asking that question instead of a friend who is younger than her. For all intents and purposes, Eszter should be more composed, and still she feels like a teenager caught doing something naughty.

"Since the autumn of my return here," Eszter says. Dorothy lets air out her lungs quickly. Her sharp eyes are drilling into Eszter's face.

"Did he force you?"

Eszter blinks and turns to look at Dorothy. Her head tilts a little. She looks at her friend and sees the fear, the same fear she has experienced before, and she shakes her head.

"He thinks rape is distasteful, don't you remember?" Eszter prompts. Dorothy frowns. "He didn't force me. He simply told me what he would like and left the decision to me."

"And you chose to become his mistress?" Dorothy says. The words are a bit harsh, but that is to be expected. Eszter would have been more worried if Dorothy was fine with it.

Eszter weighs her words for a moment before she says anything.

"I know it may seem odd to you, but he understands me. He was kind to me, in the beginning, when I was still getting used to my un-life," Eszter says. Dorothy looks like she doesn't believe the words. "He helped me get used to how things are and taught me out of my fears and worries. He helped me lose the cane. I tried before, but my mind stopped me when my body was able. I know he will always have a cruel side to him, but he has been surprisingly patient with me even though I have asked for so much of him."

"What have you asked for, then?" Dorothy asks, her eyes barely slits. Eszter sighs.

"Allowing Florence and Matteo stay here, not making me die alone and afraid, and only going after you once you showed your willingness."

There is distrust in Dorothy's eyes, but Eszter supposes she won't understand it just yet. It will take some time.

Dorothy will get used to the library eventually. Everyone does.

* * *

The makeup feels heavy on her face. Eszter smacks her lips together and then shakes the curls free from the braids. She glances at her image once more, studies her appearance, and decides it's innocent yet tempting enough. Matteo is leaning on the doorframe, looking slightly bored, but he lets her take her time. After all, she applied the makeup on his face.

It's easier to disappear into the crowd when they both look like some tourists that still have a heartbeat.

"Ready to go?" Matteo asks. Eszter nods her head and then puts on the jacket chosen for the occasion. Spring nights are still cool enough that humans would feel uncomfortable in just a thin shirt, and besides, the fabric covers skin better than any makeup ever could.

Dorothy is in the hallway. She stops dead on her tracks and stares at Eszter and Matteo.

"We'll be back in a few hours," Eszter tells her friend and smile kindly at her. "There's a map to the library on Matteo's desk if you want to find something particular to read while we're gone."

Dorothy's eyes get wary as she shifts weight.

"Going out to feed instead of using me as a snack?" she sneers. Eszter and Matteo glance at one another. They both hope Vlad didn't hear that comment, as that would mean they might be delayed further and then have to face Florence's anger.

"That as well, but we're going to pick up Florence," Matteo states with surprising calmness. "I suppose you can keep your tongue to yourself during the time Eszter isn't here to talk Vlad out of murder?"

Eszter shoves her elbow into Matteo's side. The man, by now used to it, catches it before she ever hits his ribs.

"Behave yourself," she sighs at Matteo. The man gives her a dazzling smile.

"Oh, but that would be so boring, dearest," he says and blinks. His eyes are far too angelic for someone who is as big a menace as Matteo is. The long eyelashes do not help, nor the slight blush Eszter has painted on the man's face.

Eszter simply elects for rolling her eyes.

"We'll be back," she repeats and gives Dorothy another smile.

It takes a few minutes for Matteo to put the car back into working order. During that time, Eszter sits on the passenger seat and wonders whether it is a good idea to leave Dorothy alone with Vlad. For all she knows, they may come back to a corpse in a sarcophagus.

Perhaps that would be the better option. At least then Eszter wouldn't have to be the one to take Dorothy's life.

Matteo settles behind the wheel easily enough. They travel in silence until they reach the valley, and only then does Matteo bother to turn the radio on. Up on the mountain the signal gets so faint sometimes that the scratching noises just end up hurting their ears too much to bother.

"What's his plan?" Matteo asks as he turns a corner and starts heading for the city. Eszter glances at the dashboard clock. They should have plenty of time to feed before Florence's train arrives.

"He said he might make me turn Dorothy," Eszter states. Surprise is clear on Matteo's face.

"That's new," he murmurs almost to himself.

Eszter sighs a little. Matteo glances at her with studious eyes. The man knows her by now well enough to get the meaning of that sigh. He shakes his head and glances at Eszter from the corner of his eye.

"He's been very patient with you," Matteo says. Eszter closes her eyes.

"I know that," she sighs and opens them again. "I just wish it wouldn't be Dorothy. If it was someone I didn't know half as well, it wouldn't feel like betrayal."

Matteo is frowning, but he is too busy driving to look at Eszter right now.

"It isn't betrayal," Matteo insists. "You're simply ending one chapter in her life and beginning another one. And besides, you'll be kind about it. That's more than for most of us."

Eszter glances at Matteo.

"Was it hard for you?" she asks. Matteo is quiet for a long moment.

"The end was painful," he eventually says. "The first night was hard. His rules were much stricter for us than for you, but I suppose that he already taught you during your human years at the library. You just happened to take it better than Florence or I."

Eszter rests her eyes on the road ahead as she thinks. She hasn't asked Matteo and Florence about the years before she came to the library, but she guesses that Vlad would have been hard for them. She at least had the time to get used to the man and his rules before the transformation was added to the package. With brand new eyes and a completely new un-life, his treatment would have felt much harsher. There is only so much anyone can take.

"I hope he won't be too hard on Dorothy," Eszter murmurs almost to herself. "I don't want to lose her."

Matteo taps the wheel with his fingers.

"She's stronger than you think, Eszti," Matteo says quietly. "She's grown a spine in the world outside."

Eszter smiles a little.

When they meet with Florence, they already full of blood and stolen life. Eszter hugs Florence.

"Dorothy is back," she whispers. Florence's eyes are wide as she looks at both her and Matteo.

"Well that changes some things."

* * *

Vlad notices something is wrong the moment he sees Eszter in the library. She doesn't think the others have noticed her trembling or her darting eyes, but Vlad knows her better than they do. The man settles opposite her and looks into her eyes. They ask her to tell him what is bothering her.

"I dreamt I was in the hospital again," Eszter admits eventually. He hums thoughtfully. Dreams are rare even to Eszter nowadays, and most of the time they are pleasant blurs of thought in the middle of a vast darkness that only lasts for mere moments before another night begins. Vlad wasn't here to feel it straight in her dreams, but he sees Eszter is shaken by the memory.

"Did Matteo and Florence feel it as well?" he asks, a little curious. Eszter shakes her head. It's only sometimes when she projects her dreams for the two others to see as well, and this one they could not even have understood had they felt what Eszter did. It would have simply felt like being locked in a body that refuses to move just like waking up a little too early is prone to do to all of them. Those times have made Eszter's nightmares about the hospital worse than they were before even though the memory of her human life is starting to fade with the length of all her years in the night.

Vlad thinks about it for a while. He was out this time, not for long, just a day. It seems that he trusts Eszter, Florence, and Matteo to be able to keep Dorothy in check. The last time he never left the library for such a long time, but perhaps this time he will even go for a longer trip or two.

Dorothy could also be turned quickly. She's already been bitten twice.

Eszter still worries Vlad will make her do it. She doesn't know how it will feel like, taking someone's life, but she worries. She knows she could have killed others before, but Vlad never made her do something like that. Perhaps he has been waiting for this victim for Eszter. Perhaps he has always known that Dorothy would be tempted by the mystery, would return one day, and then he could have Eszter turn her friend. It would almost be poetic justice if Dorothy would have to pay for her third escape attempt with her life, and that life would be then used to fuel Eszter. After all, Dorothy was the reason Eszter eventually lost her own life.

No. She would have been turned in any case. Eszter buries that thought deep inside, so deep she hopes it will never surface around Vlad again.

"Is it the fragility or the loss of freedom that is worse?" Vlad asks her. Eszter lets out a shaky breath.

"The loss of control," she tells him. "Not being able to even react, just being locked inside a dying husk."

Vlad nods again, still thoughtful. They have spoken about many things during the years, but this has been one of the things Eszter has not been able to talk about freely. Thinking about the hospital still makes her skin itch and her leg ache. The pain is long gone by now, but the memory of it lives.

Vlad seems to understand it. Eszter supposes he has seen and caused enough death during his time for him to be completely at ease with such matters.

Vlad's eyes leave Eszter for a moment and travel into the direction Eszter knows Dorothy is hiding in. The woman spends most of her time at the library just like they all do, but what she reads or does Eszter doesn't know. Dorothy always hides what she has been working on and keeps a careful eye on them all. She's chosen a corner where it is difficult to surprise her.

"I think you should kill Dorothy," Vlad notes calmly as if he was discussing the weather. His eyes are still nailed in the direction where Dorothy resides. Eszter hopes the woman doesn't hear this conversation.

"Kill or turn her?" she clarifies. Vlad's lips twitch.

"Well, I would not want to take away your agency," he notes dryly. Eszter sinks into the chair's comfortable padding.

Should she kill Dorothy or turn her? Dorothy most likely would not like becoming a vampire, might even detest Eszter for it, but Eszter knows losing her friend would also be extremely painful. She doesn't want to be the one to decide something like that. She doesn't want to have a choice in this matter. It would be much easier if Vlad simply told her what to do, but the man enjoys his games too much to ever do something like that.

He quietens her with a finger on her lips when she is just about to say her decision, and pulls her up easily.

"Let's not," he murmurs as he wraps a steady arm around her waist and leads her away from her workstation. Eszter lets him do that. His arms bring comfort after the nightmare about the hospital.

They end up in the bedroom, of course they do, but Vlad doesn't undress her or demand a kiss from her. Instead, he settles with her in his lap on the bed and pulls a book from the night table. He opens it and starts reading it in a soft murmur to Eszter who lets her eyes slip close and herself relax.

His lips touch the top of her head. He finishes the chapter and then they simply lie there for a moment longer.

"When should I do it?" Eszter asks with her eyes still closed. Vlad's hand rests on her stomach. The touch is intimate and familiar after so many years. The man could easily hurt her, but Eszter trusts him enough to not do so.

"As soon as you can," Vlad whispers into her ear and makes shivers run down her spine. "There's no point in delaying the inevitable."

He pulls her closer to him and Eszter feels his possessive grip shift. She relaxes and opens her eyes as the man caresses her arm softly, lets his hands run all over her body. She knows he wants her body, and she knows she would feel better if she took the comfort he offers her, but still she hesitates.

In the end, she turns around and kisses him. There is a victorious smirk on his lips as her slips his hands under her shirt, but they aren't in a hurry. He has all the time in the world to explore her skin. The night is still young, and they are not in any sort of hurry.

Eszter gasps a little and lets her kisses run down his neck. He gives her better access.

"Drink from me, Eszter," he murmurs and pulls her tightly against him.

She smiles and does as told.

Afterwards, she enjoys him petting her hair and rubbing circles into her scalp. Her mind is quiet. There are no thoughts left, only the afterimage of pleasure and sensation that is not quite drowsiness but close to it. Morning is still far away, so it isn't the sun quieting her down, simply the comfort of his body and the soft circles he is painting on her skin.

There is no heat from his body, no sweat, simply the feel of cool skin, skin as cools as her own. Her fingers study the feeling of him curiously. Even after all these years, every touch feels novel although by now she must have felt every inch of his skin, must have learned to recognise every nook and bulge and shape, every old scar that has faded with time.

She feels the scar on his neck. He stills her hand, not harshly, but with enough strength that Eszter opens her eyes and glances at him. He shakes his head quietly. She nods and then lets her hand drift lower.

She wonders whether it still aches, the scar on his neck that separated his head from his body. She wonders if that is why he understands so well the fear she feels in her dreams of the hospital, the glances she gives at her leg. She wonders if that is the reason he has been so patient with her, if her injuries remind him of his own.

"I don't know if I'll be able to do it on my own," Eszter murmurs. "I might need someone to help me transform Dorothy."

"It isn't that difficult," he tells her. "Just leave a little blood in her, but not too much so that it will take too long. The pain of transformation may drive her insane otherwise."

"The pain?" Eszter asks and looks at him. His eyes are distant for just a moment and then they return to that moment in her room, to that night instead of a night far in his past.

"It is kinder to let their hearts stop before the transformation begins," he murmurs. "I didn't have that kindness."

Eszter wonders how painful it would be, if it would feel like burning in her veins or if it would feel too cold because of the blood loss. She wonders if it would be excruciating, waiting for the heart to stop, if every feeling and emotion would be heightened when death approached.

"But not too soon," he murmurs again and caresses her face. "Too soon and they will just end up dead. There needs to be enough time for the infection to spread before the heart stops beating."

Eszter nods seriously.

"I'll remember that," she promises.

That's the least she can do for Dorothy, after all, if she's to be the one to pull her friend into an everlasting un-life of a night after night after night.

* * *

"Are ninety-seven books too many?"

Eszter's question is thoughtful as she browses through the list. Vlad snorts, sitting comfortably in a straight-backed chair and reading something written in Arabic.

"There can never be too many books," he notes and turns a page.

"If you have to ask, it's probably too many," Florence notes from her desk. She's currently replacing the covers of an old print that one of Vlad's vassals bought in an auction. She's not paying too much mind to it, as the work is so familiar, but doesn't look up either.

"What Florence said," Matteo notes and clicks a key on his computer to scan another page of a book they're adding to the library's electronic archive. "Besides, who wants to listen to a book-hoarding dragon's opinion? He'd add almost anything to this place."

"I've killed people for far less, Matteo," Vlad notes dryly.

"And you won't kill me because you've gone through the effort of training me and it would be such a bother to find someone with half as much experience and talent. Besides, we all know that you would do anything to please Eszti."

Dorothy has been quietly following their bickering for a while now. Her eyes dart between them all. Eszter rubs her eyes and decides she won't bother, but Vlad is already setting his book in his lap and looking harshly at Matteo.

Eszter tries her best to focus on her order of books and to cut down the list a little. She wonders if she could buy some of these as electronic copies and save space on the shelves for some vintage editions or rare works.

"Need I show you your place again, Matteo?" Vlad asks in a dark voice. Florence hums thoughtfully.

"I would have thought you'd first clear things with Eszter before doing something like _that_ ," she says meaningfully. "You do realise Matteo is flirting with Vlad, yes?" Florence confirms from Eszter. The latter frowns.

"Matteo flirts with everyone," she points out. "What's the big deal?"

Florence covers her face with the palm of her hand. Matteo lets out a small, nervous laugh. Vlad picks up his book and shakes his head. Dorothy is openly staring at them all.

"Sometimes I wonder how you have managed to stay so innocent in his influence," Florence sighs.

"Is this about your thing with Matteo?" Eszter points the question directly to Vlad. The man nods, though he doesn't bother saying anything. He seems rather bored with the conversation.

"You told her?" Matteo asks, surprise colouring his voice. Vlad lowers his book again.

"Why should I not? She is mine, and there isn't much I would keep from her."

Dorothy looks like she's having a stroke. Eszter rubs her eyes and tries to focus on her order. Everyone seems to be staring at her, though, everyone but Vlad.

"It's fine," she eventually says to Matteo. "I know it happened, but I also doubt it's going to happen again, now is it?"

Matteo shakes his head.

"I wouldn't do something like that to you," he states quietly.

Eszter smiles at him and focuses on her work again. Why should she worry about it when she knows both men so well, why worry when she can simply accept what once was but now no longer is?

It was before her time. There is no reason to be jealous or angry. Vlad has had a long un-life.

Eszter simply wonders how long she will be Vlad's.

* * *

The day Dorothy dies comes like thief in the night. Eszter is more aware of its arrival than anyone else, but none of the regulars at the library fool themselves into thinking something other. Dorothy is quite the opposite. The longer her neck goes unbitten for the third time, the more she acts like it will never end.

It is a night just like any other, just another night that has been lived through a thousand times before, when Vlad looks at Eszter meaningfully. She lets out the air from her lungs and then glances at Dorothy's direction. The woman is working on an old book that Eszter knows only exists in this library. She doesn't seem to have noticed the way Eszter and Vlad look at her.

His eyes tell her what must be done. Eszter nods quietly. Eventually, she straightens her back and gets up as gracefully as she can.

Dorothy never notices anything is wrong. She's let her guard down too much. When Vlad grabs her and holds her still for Eszter, there is only a moment of surprise before Eszter presses her mouth against Dorothy's neck and drinks.

The blood is so warm and so wonderful. Dorothy's heart is beating a wild rhythm against Eszter's smaller body. Eszter's grasp of the other woman tightens, though Vlad is still holding most of the weight. She drinks until she can feel Dorothy's poor heart starting to fail, and then she pulls away her mouth.

"It's alright, Dora," Eszter mutters to her friend. "I'll take care of you."

Dorothy is too weak to fight anymore. There is only a sharp look of betrayal in her eyes, but even that doesn't last. Vlad is already pulling the woman into his arms and heading downstairs towards their lair, their tomb. He lays Dorothy into the sarcophagus Eszter prepared for her friend, a sarcophagus filled with soft blankets and pillows, the comforts that none of them had when they died, and Eszter settles next to Dorothy's final resting place.

Vlad is watching the process. Dorothy is still fighting for breath. There is fear in her eyes.

"It's alright," Eszter murmurs softly and takes her hand into her own. Dorothy no longer feels warm to touch. "You won't have to die alone."

Dorothy's eyes roam Eszter's face and then they still. She lets out her last breath as a human. The pulse underneath the tips of Eszter's fingers stops.

Vlad shifts weight from one leg to another.

"Are you going to stay here watching her?" he asks. There is a sharpness to his voice. Eszter knows she shouldn't project her fears onto Dorothy, but still she finds it difficult to lower the still hand onto the unmoving chest.

Her mouth still tastes of blood. Eszter quietly licks her lips and closes her eyes.

"Will she be alright?" she asks in a fearful voice. Vlad steps behind her back and holds her.

"She is stronger than you think," he tells her. His voice isn't unkind, but there is enough strength in the words to let Eszter know that she is acting like a fool once again. "She won't know if you leave now."

Eszter gives her friend's still form one last look before she allows Vlad to take her back upstairs into the library.

Matteo and Florence gather Dorothy's things from the human wing. They put them into a room that has been prepared for Dorothy already, and Eszter gathers the books Dorothy was working on and puts them on a desk that she thinks Dorothy will like for herself. All throughout, Vlad keeps an eye on them all.

Eventually, morning arrives like it has always arrived a thousand times before. The drowsiness settles into their bones and they go downstairs.

Matteo looks at Dorothy curiously.

"She looks younger like this," he notes. Florence studies the newest, far overdue addition to their library as well.

"She'll fit in here just like before," Florence decrees.

Eszter looks at the sarcophagus that is comfortable and similar to her own resting place. Vlad gently pulls her away towards her own sarcophagus.

"Rest, Eszter," he tells her.

Eszter settles amongst her familiar blankets and pillows and looks at Vlad for a moment longer before she lets her eyes fall closed.

She barely hears him shuffling towards his own resting place before the day claims her.

* * *

Dorothy wakes up. At first, she doesn't even realise it, as there is no difference in the darkness when she opens her eyes, not change whatsoever, but then she hears something. It takes her a moment to realise she hears someone moving, and then there is light that almost blinds her.

She blinks and looks up at the man whose harsh and cruel face is curiously blank.

"It is mid-afternoon," he tells her. "Go back to sleep."

The light goes out. There is more shuffling. Dorothy stares up into the darkness. Something tickles at the edge of her consciousness, something that feels almost like a hazy dream.

Without even realising, she gets up and pulls herself out of her resting place. Her mind leads her towards something. Her body bumps against something hard and unyielding, and she lowers her hands and feels the smooth stone underneath her fingertips.

Again, there is movement. Again, there is light. This time, it illustrates the sight in front of them both, the pale face surrounded by coppery hair and the still body of Eszter.

"She's dreaming again," Dracula murmurs as he leans against the side of Eszter's sarcophagus. Realising what she has been holding onto, Dorothy takes a step back. Dracula's lips twitch, but his eyes rest on Eszter. They do not leave her for even a moment.

"Dreaming?"

"You can feel it as well, I suppose," he notes and leans over Eszter. For a moment Dorothy is afraid that he will hurt her, but instead he simply touches her hand gently. Eszter's eyelids flutter. She draws in a breath like a sigh and barely manages to get her eyes open. She looks exhausted.

"Vlad?" she mumbles.

"Not very pleasant dreams, I suppose," he says with surprising softness. Dorothy studies the man with careful eyes. Eszter's hand squeezes the man's hand, and she tries to keep her eyes open, but Dorothy can see that she is already slipping. Finally, he looks in Dorothy's direction. Eszter's eyes follow his sight and they rest on Dorothy's form. There is a soft smile on her lips before her face goes lax.

Dracula straightens and carefully settles Eszter's hand on her stomach before stepping back.

"Aren't you tired?" he asks Dorothy, though his eyes do not stray from what they are so keenly studying.

"What was that dream?" Dorothy asks. Vlad goes to his own sarcophagus. He glances at Dorothy.

"She was afraid you wouldn't wake up," he simply says and then turns off the light again.

The darkness is immense. Dorothy suddenly feels like she is about to keel over and lose her consciousness. Uncertainly, she makes her way across the dark room, feeling with her hands for the sarcophagus she was in. There is no fear when she crawls in, only a sense of relief as she feels the soft blankets and the pillows.

The tickling is gone. Dorothy closes her eyes and tries to feel something, but there are no dreams to comfort her, just uncertainty and a fear that does not lessen.

She wonders if what it will be like to wake up into another night.


End file.
